Collected Item: “A Virtual Graduation and a Struggling Business”
What type of object are you contributing?
Image
Provide a brief title for the object you are contributing.
A Virtual Graduation and a Struggling Business
Provide us with a brief description of this object and, if it is not obvious, how it connects with the Chippewa Valley. For example, if this object is an image describe for us what the image displays and why it is significant.
I chose to include primary sources from the beginning of the pandemic, as well as some from more recent times. The first sources I chose were from my virtual high school graduation ceremony in the spring of 2020. One of the sources, a picture, is what was shown on the screen when my name was announced on a live video presentation that I watched from my living room. Next, I included my valedictorian speech to give future generations further insight into the lives of individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic. While it was still an honor to graduate high school and be named valedictorian, something about my mood that day felt dark and angry. It just wasn’t the same. At the time of our virtual graduation, our small town had yet to even have its first positive Covid test, which made it feel even more wrong. However, as months went on, I found that the effects stretched far beyond myself. The Mexican Restaurant I work at began to lose business as the weather got colder and outdoor seating was no longer an option. For a short time, people were still comfortable eating their meals inside (distanced, of course). This comfort didn’t last long once Wisconsin was scolded on nearly every news platform as being a hotspot for new Covid-19 cases. For another component of my primary source, I included a screenshot of a Facebook post that my boss posted on the restaurant's page, pleading our small town to continue to show support to struggling businesses. I hope that future generations can look back at the sources I provided and see the devastating effects to not only individual lives, but businesses and communities as a whole.
*Video to be attached*
*Video to be attached*
When was this item created? Please use a "month day, year" format, for example, "April 10, 2020."
June, 2020 & November, 2020
Share with us the geographic location where this item was created. Please include, if possible, a ZIP code and an address or cross streets to help us map this location. For example, "Rice Lake, Wis., 54868, intersection of Main and Knapp."
Tomahawk, WI, 54487
Who created this object?
Natalie Zastrow
Tell us who is contributing this object to the Covid-19 archive. For example, "John Smith."
Natalie Zastrow
Help us identify a category for this item by selecting one option from this list that best fits the item you are contributing.
Health and medicine
(Optional) If there is another category that this item also fits please select it from the list.
Education
Is there anything else you would like to tell us about this object? Feel free to add relevant hashtags or a course hashtag if applicable.
#HIST125
Your name.
[private]
I have read and agree to the terms and conditions associated with contributing objects to this project.
Yes